Test yourself

Understanding Society: India and Beyond

Class 9 · Foundation (Classes 6–9)

Ch 4 · Early Humans and Beginning of Civilisation

Real UPSC Prelims questions from 2016–2026, linked to this book. Try each one first, then open the answer. 2026 answers follow UPSC's provisional answer key.

Prelims 2019 · Q92

The word 'Denisovan' is sometimes mentioned in media in reference to

(a)fossils of a kind of dinosaurs
(b)an early human species
(c)a cave system found in North-East India
(d)a geological period in the history of Indian subcontinent

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UPSC's answer: (b)

NCERT answers it: Class 9 Understanding Society: India and Beyond, Ch 4 (Early Humans and Beginning of Civilisation).

How to solve it with NCERT: Class 9 Understanding Society, ch 4: the map of early humans spreading out of Africa (Fig 4.4) marks Denisova Cave in northern Asia. So 'Denisovan' is linked to early humans — not dinosaurs, a north-east Indian cave or a geological period. Answer (b).

Beyond NCERT: Denisovans are an archaic human group, identified in 2010 from the DNA of a finger bone found in Denisova Cave in southern Siberia. Source: Reich et al., 'Genetic history of an archaic hominin group from Denisova Cave in Siberia', Nature 468 (23 Dec 2010), PMC4306417

Hindi version: UPSC's official question paper (2019), question 92 ↗

Prelims 2021 · Q32

Which one of the following ancient towns is well-known for its elaborate system of water harvesting and management by building a series of dams and channelizing water into connected reservoirs?

(a)Dholavira
(b)Kalibangan
(c)Rakhigarhi
(d)Ropar

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UPSC's answer: (a)

NCERT answers it: Class 9 Understanding Society: India and Beyond, Ch 4 (Early Humans and Beginning of Civilisation).

Understanding Society, Class 9 (ch 4): Dholavira in Kachchh had an elaborate water-harvesting system, with dams built to divert water from two nearby streams. So (a).

Hindi version: UPSC's official question paper (2021), question 32 ↗

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